


The Missing Piece

by RagingLethargy (raginglethargy)



Series: The Date Series [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Episode: s03e18 What's Next, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Season/Series 03, post-318
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24151702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raginglethargy/pseuds/RagingLethargy
Summary: “I’m glad to see you happy, Abby. You deserve it.” And Buck means it. Abby deserves this, even if he still kind of wishes he could have been the one to get her there.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: The Date Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741876
Comments: 6
Kudos: 294





	The Missing Piece

“I’m glad to see you happy, Abby. You deserve it.”And Buck means it. Abby deserves this, even if he still kind of wishes he could have been the one to get her there.

But he sees now that that was never meant to be. It would have never worked. And he wonders if, even after Ali, he’s just been stuck in a sort of stasis waiting to see if Abby ever came back. If they could make it work. If he could go back to those good days.

Abby smiles that smile that always warmed is heart and still does. “Thanks, Buck. You deserve to be happy too. So what about you? You got someone special?”

There’s something in her voice like hope. Like she hopes he hasn’t been waiting this whole time for her. She’s only partly right.

“No one special. Someone, for a bit, but she couldn’t handle not knowing if I would be coming home safe.”

Abby nods. “Yeah, that’s a tough one.”

“It wasn't great timing, but I’m glad we figured it out before it got too serious.”

“So no other special person?” Abby asks knowingly.

Buck racks his brain for what she could possibly mean.

Abby explains, “I talked to Carla this morning. Told her I’d seen you. It’s like a dam broke open. She started telling me all about how she sees you all the time. She told me about Christopher.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant by someone special. Yeah, he is. Best thing to ever happen to me.”

“And what exactly is that?”

“Meeting Christopher.”

Abby’s lips quirk up. “Just meeting him?”

Buck can feel himself beaming. He must look ridiculous. “Yeah. He’s the best kid. Endless optimism. You know he once told me, ‘I complained once, but it didn’t work’ to explain his positive attitude. And that was on the scariest day of both our lives.”

Buck can tell Abby wants to know more, but it’s still hard to talk about the tsunami. “Anyway, I always wanted to have kids, but haven’t quite gotten there yet. So Christopher has been a godsend.”

“And Eddie?” Abby asks.

Buck’s breath catches. “What about Eddie?”

“Christopher's father. He’s the new guy, right? The one I was talking to when you saw me.”

“Yeah. He actually showed up a few weeks after you left.”

“The way Carla talks…it’s like the two of you are co-parents. Is that something or…?”

Buck shakes his head. “Eddie is Christopher’s parent. I just try to help out when I can.”

Abby looks at him like she doesn’t believe him but Buck holds fast. It’s the truth.

Isn’t it?

* * *

It’s not until later that night at May’s graduation party that Buck realizes being with Abby wasn’t the good days. This. Right here. These are the good days.

He finishes flying Christopher around the yard until his arms get tired. Then he makes his way over to Eddie and his warm beer.

Eddie asks him about Abby, but Buck doesn’t much care anymore. That part of his life is over now. And he’d rather think to the future. He thinks about Red and how much Red’s life caused him to spin out. Deep down he knows Bobby and Hen and Chim will always be there for him. And Eddie and Christopher? Secretly he thinks they’ll always be family.

That didn’t stop him from wondering what would happen if Eddie ever met someone. How that would change their dynamic. And now that he’s looking forward, he wonders how that dynamic would change if _he_ met someone.

Except he doesn’t know how that would happen. He doesn’t go out much anymore, and when he does he’s with Eddie who is far more interesting than anyone he ever meets in bars. People hit on him on calls all the time, but he learned his lesson with Ali. Everyone thinks it’s so hot when the firefighter flexes his muscles and saves a life right in front of them. But then reality sets in and the uniform loses its shine.

Honestly, the closest thing he’s had to a date in the past year is that not-a-double-date with Maddie, Chim, and Josh. And he likes Josh fine, but definitely not his type.

When Eddie asks him about closure, something constricts in his chest. Buck tells him about Abby and why they weren’t right for each other in the end. But there’s something niggling in the back of Buck’s mind. Something that needs to be addressed. Needs some sort of closure. And he’s pretty sure it doesn’t have to do with Abby.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

It comes out of nowhere. Or it’s been sitting on the edge of both Eddie and Buck’s tongue for the past two years. Buck looks at Eddie. Really looks at him. Eddie looks so fragile. Like Buck could break his heart right here, right now. But somehow Buck’s not worried about how this will affect their friendship. That’s solid.

Besides, he knows immediately what his answer will be. Something like a tether breaks inside Buck. This. This was the closure he needed. But not the kind of closure he got with Abby. No. This is about the missing piece of the puzzle. Closure on one part of his life and the opening of another.

Buck says, “Let’s do it,” and now he can see the future pretty fucking clearly.

**Author's Note:**

> I probably will switch between POVs in this series, but don't plan on re-treading scenes like this. I just thought we needed to see where Buck's head was at when Eddie asked him that fateful question.


End file.
